A former YouTube star and social media CEO is calling out former Instagram model Essena O'Neill, accusing her of blaming social media for her unhappiness, when she should really be looking at herself.

Zack James, a Los Angeles-based CEO for social media audience-growing company Rise9, took to Facebook on Monday to hit out at Australian model Essena who recently gave up her life as a 'social media celebrity' saying that she was fed up with the false reality that it promotes.

The 19-year-old model had more than 574,000 Instagram followers until Monday, when she took down all her social media pages and released a tearful video saying that becoming famous on the app left her feeling 'empty'.

Scroll down for video

Speaking out: Zack James (left), a social media CEO and former YouTuber, has slammed Instagram model Essena O'Neill (right), 19, after she quit social media, saying that she was blaming social media for her issues

Posted: Zack claimed in his post that Essena's blaming of social media shows 'a lack of trying to understand yourself' and that all of her hours of photos and obsessing over her looks were her own choices

But Zack, who himself was once a YouTube star recording under the name Outback Zack, wasn't convinced, taking to his Facebook page with the statement: 'Essena O’Neill is wrong; Social Media isn't a lie'.

'Social media can be whatever the user desires it to be,' he continued. 'Allowing yourself to become pressured into a false life that you're uncomfortable with is the result of your own actions and intent.'

He went on to explain that Essena's inability to define herself outside of the medium 'comes from a lack of trying to understand yourself'.

'Blaming social media, calling it a lie, further shows your lack of attempt to understand yourself,' he added. 'Yes, deleting your social media is a step in the right direction. Disowning personal responsibility for your own happiness and shifting the blame is a step backwards.'

Coming from experience: Zack was previously a YouTube star himself, recording videos under the name OutbackZack before quitting the site in 2013 after becoming frustrated with how networks ran things

Who is the real fake? Zack stated in his post that Essena is 'shifting the blame' for her misery onto 'mankind's greatest communication tool'

Final steps: Former Instagram model Essena O'Neill has finally deleted all traces of her social media

Calling social media 'mankind's greatest communication tool', Zack added that Essena's decisions to spend hours perfecting photos or caving into advertisers demands were entirely her choice, and not the fault of Instagram, Twitter, YouTube or any of the online tools she used.

Zack himself has some experience in the area. Back in 2013 he also removed his videos from YouTube, after becoming exasperated with the networks he perceived as ruining the YouTuber community.

Since he first posted his thoughts to Facebook on Monday, the post has since been liked over 38,000 times and shared over 3,000.

But Zack is far from the first to have spoken out against 19-year-old Essena's explosive departure. Though she was initially praised for speaking out against the 'dishonest and contrived' sense of beauty she had promoted on Instagram, she later lashed out at both the media and her former friends for 'headlines' and 'gossip' on her website forum.

Truth: Essena said of these 'candids', 'I felt the strong desire to pose with my thighs just apart #thighgap boobs pushed up #vsdoublepaddingtop and face away because obviously my body is my most likable asset'

Social media backlash: People have become skeptical of Essena since she quit social media, with some calling the move a 'publicity stunt' - comments she addressed on her website forums on Wednesday

The teenager slammed those debating her motive and demanded people 'move forward' and discuss matters like 'social pressure', 'animal cruelty' and 'gender equality.'

She also referred to her former friends twins Nina and Randa, who took to YouTube to share their stance on her actions.

'I will not discuss the twins personal private problems they shared with me. That is not okay and NOT EVEN IMPORTANT,' she wrote.

'I had a great time with them, but I was also extremely lost in the ‘celebrity construct’. I wish they would have come to me personally, not share intimate details of my life. But this is my exact point about social media.'

'Dishonest and contrived': Essena said the life she portrayed on social media was 'not real life'

Look elsewhere: Essena urged teens not to seek social approval and validation from likes and views because it makes you 'self absorbed'

'Without realising, I've spent majority of my teenage life being addicted to social media, social approval, social status and my physical appearance. Social media, especially how I used it, isn't real,' she wrote.

'It's a system based on social approval, likes, validation in views, success in followers. It's perfectly orchestrated self absorbed judgement.'

She has since deleted around 2,000 photos from her social media accounts, amending the captions on her remaining images to reflect the 'truth' behind the snapshot in a bid to 'expose the harsh and often humors reality behind the instafamous culture.'

Essena's candid captions have revealed details about how much she was paid for promotional posts, how much make-up she was wearing and how many failed attempts she made before capturing a photo worthy of posting.

Her true self: Essena has since quit social media, and has started a new website called 'Let's Be Game Changers'. Above, she's seen sans make-up in a candid shot

The hard truth: Now that she has quit her life as an Instagram celebrity, Essena said she doesn't have enough money to 'afford real life', and has been appealing to the public to help fund her living expenses

In one image, a smiling Essena poses on the water in a stunning white floor length gown, captioning the image: 'I didn't pay for the dress, took countless photos trying to look hot for Instagram, the formal made me feel incredibly alone.'

'If you find yourself looking at "Instagram girls" and wishing your life was theirs... Realize you only see what they want,' she advised her followers.

However, now that she has quit her life as a social media celebrity, Essena said she doesn't have enough money to 'afford real life', and has been appealing to the public to help fund her living expenses.

In a tearful video posted to her new website, called Let's Be Game Changers, the make-up-free millennial confesses that she can no longer pay her rent and asks people to support her financially.

'I'm not a purist. I need money to cover the basics. If you get something from what I'm doing, pay what it's worth to you,' she wrote on her website.